March 1522, 1-10

5 March.
H. H. u. St. A.
England. f. 1.

The Ambassadors in England to Charles V.
We, De Mesa and de Caestres, wrote last on the 28th of
February, replying to yours of the 18th, and enclosing Wolsey's
draft of a proper commission for the peace negotiations. On
March 1st I, Lachaulx, reached London, escorted by Sir Richard
Wingfield, who met me some miles outside the city and explained
to me the very good will which Henry and Wolsey bear your
majesty. The same day Wolsey sent one of his servants to say
Henry had granted us audience for the following day. Therefore,
that same night, I, Lachaulx, communicated to the resident
ambassadors all your majesty's instructions, and learned from
them the present state of the negotiations both for the truce and
for the loan. They informed me fully of the present state of
affairs, and we agreed on what we would say the following day.
On March 2nd we were conducted by Sir Richard Wingfield
and other servants of the king and the cardinal to Greenwich,
where we awaited the cardinal who had not yet arrived. During
this time I, Lachaulx, was graciously saluted by many persons
of the court. Wolsey, on his arrival, received us cordially, asked
warmly after your majesty's health, and took us to a more private
room where I, Lachaulx, presented my credentials and spoke
briefly of the reasons for my mission, offering to show him my
instructions both for Portugal and for the papal court, declaring
that your majesty intended to associate him in all his affairs, and
adding that your majesty had such perfect confidence in him that
I was instructed to accept any changes he might suggest. I
added that, although this point was not included in my letters,
having learned from the ambassadors here of the present state
of the negotiations, I wished to join them in urging Wolsey to
hurry everything forward with the same good will toward your
majesty's service which he had previously shown, and, among
other things, learning that Henry had promised to lend you
100,000 crowns, which sum, though gratefully to be accepted, was
far from enough for your majesty's needs, therefore, in view of
the exertions which you had made for the common cause, and the
serious inconveniences to which lack of money now exposed you,
I begged Wolsey to attempt to obtain some increase in the amount.
I said I had also learned from the ambassadors that the negotiation
of the truce was proving long drawn out, and that Francis was
concealing his real intentions in the matter. This, I said, much
perplexed your majesty's affairs, so that it seemed desirable either
that the negotiations should be concluded at once, or that Henry
should speak more roundly to Francis, letting him know his
intention of declaring in favour of your majesty, which, if done,
would make Francis not merely willing to accept, but eager to
seek a truce. We then gave Wolsey the latest news from
Switzerland, Milan, and Rome, and he thanked us on Henry's
part as well as his own, for this evidence of your majesty's good
faith. He then spoke at some length of the sincere affection
which his master and he bore your majesty, and of their zeal to
serve the common cause.
Wolsey then read the instructions given to me, Lachaulx, for
negotiations with the pope. He said these pleased him very much,
and really embraced everything that needed to be discussed at
present ; nevertheless, he wished to add to them certain articles
to be explained to the pope either by me or by the ambassador
whom Henry would send with me, who would either accompany
me to Portugal or remain to negotiate with the pope and the
nobles of Castile, whichever seemed better for the common
interest. Since Henry was nearly through hearing mass, after
which we were to be presented, Wolsey deferred reading my
instructions for Portugal until another day. In reply to what
I had said, he solemnly declared that the king of England was
already doing everything possible to advance your majesty's affairs,
nevertheless, if on examination it proved that the money granted
to the king of England by his subjects more than sufficed for
Henry's own present necessities, he would freely share the
remainder, and your majesty should have no doubt that he
wished to offer all his treasury to the common cause. As to the
truce, he said he was well aware how necessary it was, and no one
in the world was more eager for it than he ; he had done everything
in his power to bring it about, both by writing to Louise of
Savoy, as your majesty knew, a letter which he thought would
prove most efficacious, and by frightening the French ambassadors
here resident with the warning that if they did not accept a truce
with reasonable conditions, Henry would be obliged to abandon
his neutrality, a risk which the French king ought not to take.
He then showed us Louise of Savoy's answer to his letter, a copy
of which is enclosed herewith. It seems empty enough, the
only hopeful thing in it being the promise to send someone to
carry on further negotiations. About even this Wolsey was
doubtful, unless the French happened to have good fortune in
Milan, in which case he thought they would be more inclined to a
truce. Nevertheless, Wolsey thought it better to continue to
negotiate through Louise rather than to warn Francis directly
by means of the English ambassador ; this course will be resorted
to only if the negotiations through the queen fail. He added that
all these matters would be settled before Lachaulx's departure.
Thereafter we went to the church, and, mass being over, we
were introduced into the king's private oratory, Wolsey alone
being present. There I, Lachaulx, gave Henry your majesty's
letters and greetings, and related in order everything that we had
said to the cardinal. Henry asked kindly after your majesty's
health, and expressed his thanks for your having ordered my
instructions to be communicated to him. All the present negotiations,
he said, he left in Wolsey's hands, and Wolsey knew his
mind entirely. He went on to say that the ambassadors here
resident had pressed him a good deal, both for the augmentation
of the loan and for a formal declaration against France, for which
purpose they had delivered to him letters patent which had been
given them. He hoped in this matter to do whatever he could to
content your majesty, and he was glad a new ambassador had
been sent in order that I, Lachaulx, might be informed of all the
English had done, and of their needs, and might judge whether
the offer of 100,000 crowns was not an open and friendly one.
As to the truce, he said, he desired it even more than did your
majesty, and would do his best to bring it about. He said he
would take counsel about our message and hoped everything
would be settled, before Lachaulx's departure. We again
urged that delay might entail irreparable injury. Henry said
he was glad to hear that affairs in Italy were going well, that your
majesty's army was being kept in being, and that the Germans
were crossing to join the duke of Milan. He thought the news
from Switzerland indicated that the Swiss would easily be
persuaded to return home, and it seemed to him that not a little
of the credit for this belonged to his ambassador, Dr. Knight,
since the Swiss had such an opinion of Henry's power that he did
not believe they would now throw themselves into the arms of
France.
We announced to Henry the arrival of Juan de Barzia to inspect
the English fleet and the provision of arms and victuals, and to
find out just when it would be ready, so that your majesty could
adjust his affairs accordingly. Henry took this in good part,
and was pleased to have de Barzia see the entire fleet, especially
the Mary. Wolsey is to arrange for the vice-admiral of England
to show de Barzia all the equipment so far assembled, and give
him lists of the number and size of the vessels, and even of the
provisions collected.
Sir Thomas Boleyn joined us, and presented the letters from my
Lady Margaret about the matter of the county of Burgundy.
I, Lachaulx, explained to Henry how Francis, in spite of the
English warnings, had broken faith and confiscated Charolais
and other goods belonging to Lady Margaret. Henry was very
angry, and it was agreed Wolsey should write at once to France,
demanding that reparation be made. We asked that this be done
without delay, and the king, since he was himself to ride in the
tourney after dinner, terminated the interview for the present,
and we all went in to dinner.
After dinner, at the tournament, we were presented by the
cardinal to the queen and the princess Mary, and I, Lachaulx,
gave the queen your letter and presented your majesty's compliments,
taking the opportunity to explain the cause of my coming.
Catherine asked affectionately after your majesty's health and
the prosperity of your affairs, and said that nothing in the world
so rejoiced her as to hear of your health and happiness. Then,
after we had saluted the princess, she continued to question me
not less sweetly than prudently, about your majesty, and there
was much pleasant conversation, especially about the charms of
the little princess, who, it should be noticed, wore on her bosom a
golden brooch ornamented with jewels forming your majesty's
name, which name she had taken on St. Valentine's Day for her
valentine, which seems a happy augury.
After the tournament had begun, Wolsey drew us apart, and
began to speak of the negotiations for the truce. He said he was
certain that Francis knew about the treaty of Bruges, through a
courier intercepted on his way to Rome, and on this account
preferred peace with your majesty rather than truce, lest you
use the truce to make yourself stronger, and lest the king of
England also prepare for war against him. By what we could
get out of the cardinal, and what we could gather from Henry's
words, it seems to us that Henry and Wolsey would much prefer
a truce to a peace. We, however, explained again the extremity
in which your majesty found himself, and said it seemed clear
to us that you could not hold out much longer unless either there
were some truce or other arrangement, or Henry came fully to
your assistance and declared war on France. Therefore we
warned Wolsey, as he was your majesty's faithful friend, to
bring the negotiations for a truce to a speedy end, unless he wished
either to see his king at once involved in war, or your majesty
withdrawn from it. To feel out his intentions we asked him what
he thought ought to be done in case the French were willing to
make peace but not a truce, adding that a truce would not, of
course, be considered unless reasonable conditions could be
obtained through the mediation of the king and the cardinal.
This brought him into the open. He said, vehemently, that a
peace was not at all to be considered instead of a truce, to achieve
which latter he would exert himself to the utmost. He added
that he very much hoped that your majesty would inform him in
the greatest secrecy of the final terms which you would be willing
to consider. When he knew these, Henry would be able to induce
Francis to accept them as coming from him, although the French
would proabaly refuse them if they were openly offered. Seeing
that we had so far been unable to discover any favourable disposition
in the French, and not wishing to prejudice your majesty's
affairs, we said merely that we would write what Wolsey said to
your majesty, since we were unwilling to disclose the final conditions
until we had consulted further among ourselves. So we
have advanced no farther with the negotiations for a truce, except
by what can be drawn from Louise of Savoy's letter. We hope,
however, to have some further decision shortly. While we were
speaking of a peace, Wolsey made several observations which we
could not consider acceptable, asserting that since the French
would not make peace without certain conditions, he would like
to know what we were willing to do about the question of Navarre,
and whether we would pay the Neapolitan pensions during an
armistice, and whether we would ratify the marriage treaty
contained in the treaty of Noyon, all of which conditions seemed
to us completely unreasonable, and such that your majesty
would never accept. Nevertheless, if it does come to negotiating
for peace, and an arrangement on these points is essential, we
beg your majesty to inform us of your pleasure.
This was the end of our discussion with Wolsey, and I, Lachaulx,
and I, de Caestres, on the king's invitation, went with several of
the greatest in the court to inspect the royal armoury. I, de Mesa,
went home, but having that day received a letter from the pope,
together with letters also from His Holiness to Henry and to
Wolsey, which I had given them, I asked Wolsey as I was leaving,
to keep in mind what the pope had written to him. This was,
in substance, that His Holiness highly approved the close union
between your majesty and the king of England, was anxious that
it should be a lasting one, and would exert himself to draw other
princes into it, which he did not doubt could be accomplished
when it was seen that your league had the support of the Holy
See. He begged Henry and Wolsey, since they had hitherto
been so zealous in the cause of peace, to intervene in the present
disturbed affairs, to make peace and prevent further bloodshed.
If some power should be so wicked as to refuse reasonable conditions
of peace, then, he said, the emperor and the king of England
should make war on the miscreant as not their foe alone, but the
enemy of all Christians. All that His Holiness wrote was very
appropriate at the present state of our negotiations. Nevertheless,
Wolsey said to me : "I am afraid that when the cardinals
get His Holiness to Rome they will persuade him to make peace
and that the Holy Father may draw the emperor after him, and
thus bring all our present plans to naught." Your majesty should
be able to gather Wolsey's frame of mind from this remark.
In view of the urgent state of your majesty's affairs, we intend
to press the king and the cardinal as strongly as possible to let us
know what is being done about a truce, and if truce or peace fails,
what Henry will do to assist you. And so Wolsey may have no
excuse for delay on the grounds that he does not know what
terms we would accept, we think we ought, unofficially, and as if it
were our own idea, to advance the proposal that Milan may be
excluded from the general truce. We shall keep your majesty
constantly informed.
London, 5 March, 1522.Signed, Bishop of Badajoz and Elne ; Lachaulx ; Jacques de
Caestres. Latin. pp. 13.

10 March.
H. H. u. St. A.
Belgien. P.A.
f. 2.

Lachaulx to Charles V.
My letters of the 5th of this month have informed you of the
fulfilment of your instructions to me concerning the king of
England, and you have since been informed by letters which the
Bishop of Badajoz, my lord de Caestres, and I wrote you jointly,
of further occurrences. I have nothing to add except that Henry
said to me with the greatest appearance of good will, that when
you two were together you should have from him whatever you
wished. Neither he nor the cardinal said anything more on this
point, but they show such affection toward you that affairs seem
very hopeful, though I would not wish to counsel you to rely on
them entirely. I have been very well received here, and the king
said to me on my departure that I could assure you on my honour
that I found him determined to be your good uncle and father,
and to make common cause with you in everything. He is
writing you, and will send us the letters to be taken by the courier
to-morrow. I am leaving on Wednesday.
After I took leave of the king I was conducted by the duke of
Suffolk to a large apartment where I found the queen accompanied
by the princess and many of her ladies. The queen asked if I was
leaving, and when I said yes, she began, in the most affectionate
manner to speak of you, and said among other things, that her
greatest desire was to see you here and to receive you with the
greatest honour and best cheer possible. She then said I should
not leave without seeing the princess dance. Princess Mary did
not have to be asked twice ; she performed a slow dance, and
twirled so prettily that no woman in the world could do better ;
afterwards at the queen's command she danced a gaillarde and
acquitted herself marvellously well ; then she played two or
three songs on the spinet, and indeed, sire, she showed unbelievable
grace and skill and such self-command as a woman of twenty
might envy. She is pretty, and very tall for her age, just turned
seven (fin de sept bonne annees) (fn. 1) and a very fine young cousin
indeed.
I have received your letters of the 20th, 23rd, 24th and 27th of
February, of which that of the 24th is in Castilian, and in reply
I have given Juan de Barzena (sic) the memoir which you sent
me, which he has fulfilled as desired. I saw the ships of your
escort set sail. The king's great ship is one of them, the finest
I think, that there is on the sea. I have also visited the Mary
Rose which is intended for you, and is undoubtedly the best that
could be found for such a purpose. The master, Mouchique
[William Mewe], who knows her better than I do, and also Barzena
both say she is the best ship for all purposes they have ever seen.
The lodgings prepared for you are just what you would wish.
I regret I shall not be able to serve you in them.
I shall do my best to fulfil the missions you have charged me
with to the pope concerning cardinals Cesarini and Colonna and
also the rest of your instructions, both in the letters written in
Castilian and those in French. Since it seemed to me that I
could not reach His Holiness as soon as some of your affairs
required, I thought it better to send a special courier yesterday
with letters to His Holiness and to your viceroys in Castile. I have
written the bishop of Palencia fully about this matter, from whom
you may inform yourself more at length if you wish.
On my arrival here the king of England and the cardinal both
seemed of the opinion that the pope ought not to hasten his
departure from Castile, and that when he left he ought to come
to England, but on further thought they are agreed he should go
to Rome by the shortest route.
I have delivered to the king and queen of England the letters
from Hungary which you entrusted to me, and I shall do the
same with those for Portugal. (Recommends to the emperor's
service the son of Didier Boissot.)
To-morrow after dinner we shall be advised of Wolsey's final
decisions, and shall write you again.
London, 10 March, 1522.Signed, Lachaulx. P.S. Since I took leave of the queen she
has sent to ask me to remind you to send her the falcons for
hunting herons which she asked before.French. pp. 4.

10 March.
H. H. u. St. A.
Eng., f. 2.

Charles V to the Ambassadors in England.
We have received yours of the 28th of February to which we
shall reply in the customary order.
We are very glad to hear that Wolsey has changed his mind
about the pope's staying in Spain, since our common cause and
the interests of the Christian religion alike require that he should
hasten to Rome. We have therefore ordered the galleys of
Naples and those of Sicily and Castile to proceed with all diligence
to Barcelona to escort the papal galleys and the other ships
necessary to His Holiness' voyage.
We have read all Wolsey's arguments against our sailing from
Falmouth rather than Southampton, and it seems to us he is
making a great fuss for very little cause. We have always tried
to follow his advice whenever possible, in sending our ambassadors
to Calais, for example, in accepting the treaty about the fisheries
against the will and interests of our subjects, in continuing the
negotiations for a truce, in postponing our demand for Henry's
declaration against France, and in other things too long to write.
Indeed, we have always taken his advice as a father's, and we
think he ought not to be offended if, in so complicated a matter as
this, we do not follow it precisely, especially because when there
are many considerations on both sides, the best thing to do is to
follow the letter of the treaties. This is what we intend to do in
this case, and you will have to consider means to avoid the difficulties
mentioned by the cardinal, and discuss with him the extent
to which we should limit our escort, and how it may best be
provisioned.
We are glad he has come round to our opinion far enough to
agree that the fleets should be manned by 5,000 fighting men
each, and we hope that on further reflection he will see the wisdom
of increasing the strength to 6,000, since, according to the treaty,
our crossing to Dover is to be safeguarded entirely by the English
fleet, which is required to furnish sufficient ships, guns and fighting
men to keep the Channel against pirates or the enemy's fleet.
Wolsey's understanding that the English fleet should only come
to accompany ours from Zeeland in case ours is equally provided
with artillery and fighting men, to inquire into which Henry is
sending a person to inspect our preparations, seems quite contrary
to the wording of the treaty. According to that, our fleet is to
make ready in Zeeland while we are in England, and after the
English fleet has guarded our passage there. It is while we are
there, and on our way by land to Falmouth, that the English
fleet is supposed to go to Zeeland and accompany ours to
Falmouth, where we are to embark, as you may see by the
appropriate article of the treaty, a copy of which is enclosed.
We are trusting entirely to the English fleet to guard the Channel,
and you should see that this is understood beyond any possibility
of error. We do not doubt that, when Henry and Wolsey have
refreshed their memory of the treaty, they will give other orders
than at present. This is one of the principal reasons for the
impossibility of any descent on the French coast while we are in
England, since our fleet will be ready only in time to meet the
Spanish ships at Falmouth whither the English are expected to
escort them.
What Wolsey and Henry say about the importance of Italian
affairs, and the desirability of driving the French out of Italy,
after which it would be easier to induce them to accept a favourable
truce, is all very true, and we have been, and still are, doing
everything in our power in this direction, selling and alienating
our goods to supply the army, a heavy expense to bear alone.
Since Henry understands the importance of this enterprise, he
might perhaps be expected to do more to aid it than he has done
so far, both by contributing to the pay of the Swiss, and by
lending money to Sforza. It is impossible for us to do much
more, and we cannot count on postponing the truce until after we
have expelled the enemy from Italy, unless we have help in that
enterprise. We must escape from our present difficulties by one
means or another, and it is for this reason that you should urge
Henry to admonish the king of France according to our letters
patent, which is the thing in the world most likely to induce him
to accept a truce. Wolsey's generalities to the effect that Henry
will use the letters of admonition in good faith for the common
good seem unsatisfactory, and likely only to delay the treaty to
our great prejudice, and we are astonished that the admonition,
which cannot injure Henry or prejudice the treaties, has not
been made sooner, in view of the results that may be expected of
it. It is hard to see how such an admonition would have delayed
the sending of the man whom Francis and Louise have promised
with instructions for the truce. We have already sent our powers
in a form more ample, and more honourable to the king and the
cardinal, than Wolsey has suggested.
De Barzia has reported to us on the present state of the English
preparation. It is surprising to learn that they will not be ready
before Easter, and that the English excuse the delay by saying
we are supposed to notify them a month in advance of our
departure. We told you some time ago to say, and we have
written in all our letters, that we intended to cross to England
at the end of February, according to the treaty, had it been
possible. We were obliged to delay somewhat, waiting for the
fleet from Spain, but now that it has come, and the ships here are
being prepared with all diligence, we are sending our grand escuyer(fn. 2)
to direct the disposition of the fleet, and we are determined to
hasten on our voyage. Therefore we have written to advise
Henry of our decision and to ask that his navy be ready for duty
at Calais on April 10th, with the transports to take us and our
suite to Dover or Sandwich, in order that we may keep Easter in
England, and continue our voyage as speedily as possible.
Copies of our letters are enclosed. Urge the English to put this
plan in execution, and point out that there is no cause for delay
since the conditions of the treaty have been satisfied.
In the matter of the Ostend ships you must do your best to
see that Henry, who is the guarantor of the relevant treaty,
sees that justice is done, and reparation is made for all violations
of the treaty during the time in question.
We certainly do not know what may have caused Wolsey's
excited language to the effect that we should behave sincerely
toward the English and treat them not as subjects but as friends.
We find his words very surprising, for we are not conscious of
having said or even thought anything which could lead him to
impugn our sincerity, or to imagine that we have ever felt toward
Henry otherwise than as a good uncle and friend, and even as a
father. We have always placed complete confidence in him, and
if his ambassadors or others have written that we have said anything
to the contrary they have failed in the truth. Judgment
should be formed by what we write and what we do, not by idle
rumour and hearsay. His ambassadors may, perhaps, have
written that we had entered negotiations unknown to Henry,
but as a matter of fact we have never been willing to listen to
any offers whatever, or to accept any arrangement except at the
hands of Henry and Wolsey.
Similarly, you replied very well to Wolsey's remark that he had
heard we had changed our mind about going to Spain. We have
never swerved from our determination on that journey, and no
credence should be given to words that may pass between particular
members of our council, since in any council there are always
different opinions. We would not deny that some of our councillors
have advised us to attend first to Italy, among them the king,
our uncle, but our resolution has always been the same, that is
to go to Spain via England according to the treaty.
We note what you say about the return of Wolsey's man from
France with secret letters of which the cardinal has so far said
nothing. It does not seem that either of the reasons you suggest
would be an adequate excuse for Wolsey's failing to inform you
of the messenger's return. Do your best to get to the bottom of
this affair. Thank Henry for offering to share with us the surplus
of his treasury, even though he cannot promise more than 100,000
crowns at present. You may say that we are confident that when,
on our arrival in England, he learns of our necessities, he will do
something to relieve them. In order that we may make use
promptly of the 100,000 crowns which he now grants us, please
find out at once the place and the time where we may receive
them, and send the form of the obligation and security which
the English wish in return for the loan. You may assure Henry
we are following his advice to raise all the money we can, but this
war consumes all we can get together, so we shall have to make an
end of it by truce or otherwise.
You replied very well to Henry's suggestion that we should
make use of the subsidy granted by the imperial diet for our
Italian affairs. The empire will never finance an invasion of
Italy unless we lead it in person, since the subsidy was granted
specifically for our coronation. Moreover, we cannot anticipate
the date set, i.e. next August, unless by turning the subsidy to
the war against the Turks. There is great need in that quarter,
so that we have already promised to help the king of Hungary
with this money, and we are assembling the imperial diet at
Nuremburg to persuade it to anticipate its grant so the money
may be employed against the Turks for the defence, not only of
the kingdom of Hungary, but of Germany as well.
You may tell the cardinal that, in the matter of his two
requests to the pope, free confirmation in the abbey of St. Albans,
and confirmation of his legatine authority for life, we shall gladly
do our best, and in anything else in which we can please him as
well. We have already instructed Lachaulx on this point, and
we are writing him again to beg His Holiness to advance the
affairs of the cardinal as our own, and for this purpose Wolsey
may give Lachaulx whatever instructions he likes, and make use
of him exactly as if it were our own business.
Brussels, 10 March, 1522.Draft in Gattinara's hand. French. pp. 11.

10 March.
H. H. u. St. A.
Belgien D.D.
Abt. B. f. 4.

Charles V to Henry VIII.
As you have been often told by our ambassadors, we greatly
desire to visit you in order that we may decide together about all
our business, and then, having commended to your protection our
lands in the Low Countries, we may depart for our kingdom of
Spain in order to fulfil what by treaty we have agreed to do. We
have been obliged to wait longer than we had expected for the
ships from Spain. These however, have, now arrived and,
wishing to fulfil our duties under the treaty of Bruges, we have
given order to collect the necessary ships, to equip and provision
them, and to raise the 6,000 infantry which we are leading to
Spain. Everything else necessary for our voyage is being made
ready, and we hope to keep Easter in your realm.
Therefore, since according to treaty it is your part to guard the
straits and the English Channel and insure our safe passage, and,
because our navy will not be ready in time for such service, we
beg you to order your navy to guard the straits, and that you will
further send to us, at Calais, on the 10th of April, the ships
necessary for our crossing to Dover or Sandwich. None of this
is to be at your expense except the payment of the troops, and
we ask this only in order that the time of our passage may be kept
secret, and that everyone may believe we intend to embark in
Zeeland where our fleet is making ready.
Our ambassadors, to whom you will please grant credence, will
inform you of everything else.
Brussels, 10 March, 1522.Contemporary copy. French. pp. 2.

Footnotes

1. The princess Mary was born 18 February 1516 ; Lachaulx adds a year.